Five children, woman dead in Japan ‘arson attack’: reports

Suspicion points to a man believed to be the father of the kids and the woman seems to be his wife.

Investigators work near an apartment which was engulfed by a fire in Hitachi, Ibaraki prefecture of eastern Japan on October 6, 2017. The blaze has killed six people -- five children and a woman -- and a man, believed to be the father of the kids, turned himself in and was arrested on suspicion of murder. The woman is said to be his wife.

Five children and a woman died in Japan on Friday in a fire that was apparently started deliberately by the father of the family.

Police discovered five bodies at an apartment in Hitachi City some 100 km north of Tokyo after the blaze was extinguished in the early hours of Friday, Jiji Press reported.

A child found in critical condition later died in hospital.

Local media said the children were aged between three and 11.

Father in his 30s

A man in his 30s told authorities he had started the fire, according to Jiji, citing unnamed police sources. He is believed to be the father of the five children.

A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.